| Don’t expect any MMJ dispensaries here anytime soon. |
The NIMBYs of the Fairfield, Conn. Town Plan and Zoning Commission all seem to agree that medical marijuana is a legitimate and beneficial therapy for patients with certain debilitating conditions.
They just don’t want it anywhere near their town.
Arguing that allowing medical marijuana dispensaries would bring unwanted traffic to the town’s commercial district and that property values would drop significantly, the commission unanimously voted yesterday to deny two medical marijuana centers applications.
“This is not about the efficacy of medical marijuana,” Commissioner Matthew Wagner told the CT Post after the meeting. “It’s trying to put a square peg in a round hole … it’s not a permitted use (in Fairfield).”
Other commissioners seemed to wipe their hands of the deal by passing the blame onto the state. Commissioner Richard Jacobs said that the state didn’t come up with a very workable plan for dispensaries to find places to operate. Some blamed the issue on things like a lack of a traffic study to see how the dispensaries would affect traffic in the town of 57,000.
Even the lone nurse on the commission who is in favor of medical cannabis was against the two shops — or any dispensaries in her town.
David Lipton, owner of one of the centers applying in Fairfield, didn’t raise any objections either. Instead, he politely said he’ll look elsewhere for a location for his otherwise state-legal dispensary.
“I think a lot of really good points were raised about the location,” Lipton told reporters. “I think the town will figure out down the road how they will handle medical marijuana facilities.”